


A Demon's Research

by Endeer



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Demonic Possession, Demons, Flashbacks, HIS RESEARCH, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurities, M/M, Protective!Shane, Supernatural Elements, The Ghost and Demons of Bobby Mackey's, also platonic - Freeform, beating the shit out of your friend, but i tried anyways, dead bodies but they aren't shown, first fuckinnn fic, hnnng, im not good at writing fluff at all, im very tired, me crying while writing this, out of being tired, protective!ryan, shut up shane, violence kind of, wannabe scientist demon, weird text shit, weird visions of hell at one point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 18:23:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13393614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endeer/pseuds/Endeer
Summary: Ryan is freaking out. Shane is insecure. A demon is being evil.





	A Demon's Research

Ryan tied the red rope around his waist. He closed his eyes in an attempt of comforting himself, to try and distract himself from the stupid choice he was about to make- going down the well in Bobby Mackey's basement, that was known as a portal to hell. This didn't work. He re-opened his eyes right back into the near pitch-black darkness he was entrapped in.   
"Alright." Shane's unintentionally commanding voice snapped Ryan from his worrying. He looked up at his 75% leg friend, who was smirking with rope in hand. "You're all ready to go." Shane's eyebrows raised, and his smile grew wider. "Unless, you're too scared?"  
"I am _not_ too scared. Scared, yes, but not _too_ scared." Ryan spat back, tugging the rope towards him. As he felt the rope tighten between the two holding it, a chill shot up his spine. He froze for a second, then stared back at Shane.  
"If I tug on this rope," Ryan said, "You pull me the fuck outta there."  
Shane seemed taken aback at Ryan's seriousness, but immediately recovered back to his asshole nature. "Scared. You're definitely too scared."  
“Shut up, Shane.” Ryan groaned as Shane laughed. In that moment, that moment of Shane's face emitting pure happiness, Ryan felt calm. He felt in place, despite being as out as place as possible. 

"If anyone is down here- wait, fuck- no, I'm not talking to you!" Ryan panicked. All the calmness he had felt around Shane had quickly vanished when Shane was out of sight. He was now down in the well, by himself. He gripped on tightly to the bottle of holy water he had tied to him. God, it smelled _terrible_ down here. Ryan muttered nervously to himself, pacing around in the darkness. "It's okay...It's all in your head, it's all in your head..."   
**CLANG**  
Ryan spun around, his flashlight nearly dropping out of his trembling hand. The light flashed over a shadow that seemingly ripped away from existence the minute it was spotted. Ryan stood still. He said nothing- he _couldn't_ -  
"Ryan? You good down there?" Shane's voice echoed, sending relief through Ryan's shivering body.  
"Yeah, I'm just- _AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_ " Ryan let out all of his pent-up screams in one, flailing his arms and chucking his flashlight behind him.  
"What is it?" Shane asked in a rather monotone voice, because, as always, he would probably think Ryan was just being a pussy.   
"A-A hand, a cold hand, just gripped onto my shoulder! Like, hard! Shane, it was the demon!"  
A sigh was heard from above. "I'm pulling you up now."  
"Wha-" Before Ryan could protest, the rope ripped Ryan from his frozen stance. And before he could process anything, he was on his feet in front of Shane, who was calmly untying Ryan from the rope, his expression giving away nothing. Ryan felt tears well up in his eyes.   
"Shane, it wasn't the wind."  
"I didn't say it _was_ the wind."  
The rope fell loosely from Ryan's waist. "Besides, there's no wind down there. Even as a Shaniac, that's a pretty dumb reason." Shane straightened back up, a fond yet worried look on his face.  
"Are you okay? You seem extra shaken up."  
"It was the demon, Shane! It put it's hand on me, and I saw a shadow of it beforehand, and..." Ryan found himself trailing off, his hands halting from the excessive gestures he was unintentionally using.  
"Well, it _is_ pretty cold down here. And freaking out isn't exactly good for the brain, as you so certainly are aware of- it was probably your eyes playing tricks on you."  
"But I FELT the hand! The cold hand, on my shoulder!"  
"A cold spot. Or, just a random chill."  
"A cold spot is a regular paranormal occurrence!"  
"It's also a regular natural occurrence."  
Ryan threw his hands up and groaned. "You will _not_ believe me, will you?"  
Shane shrugged. "I'm just giving other possible, and honestly more logical answers to try and convince you it wasn't a demon. Maybe then you'd calm the hell down, because even now I can see you're sweating excessively."  
Ryan wiped his forehead with his arm, pouting.   
Shane let out a long breath. "Okay. Obviously there's no other way to convince you, so I'll go down there and prove to you there's no demon-"  
"NO!"  
Shane stared at Ryan, who had a desperate look in his eyes.   
"Look man...I'll be fine! Don't worry." Shane softly chuckled, lending a smile. His voice was gentle while still locked with his original playfulness, a voice he always used to calm down Ryan. And as much as Ryan hated it, it always calmed him down.   
Shane landed on the stone floor. A strong, putrid smell greeted him. He glanced up at Ryan, whose head was peeking down the well. He gave his friend a sarcastically enthusiastic smile and a thumbs up. Ryan huffed, and his head moved away from Shane's vision. Shane reached up and effortlessly brushed his fingers across the cracking ceiling in boredom. "Hellooo, demons. My name is Shaaaneee." Shane pronounced, dramatization overflowing in his voice. "Ya see, my friend Ryan said you harassed him. I don't stand for that kind of bullying." Shane stood still for a moment, focusing on his surroundings. Dark. He could see with his night-vision camera, but it wasn't flawless. He wasn't scared, at all. But, he kind of wanted to be. There was little bit of him that _wanted_ to see something, to feel the same rush of emotions Ryan so commonly experienced. To have anything facing his disbelief in the paranormal. The minute he felt a cold breeze, or saw a shadow figure, or heard something strange, a thousand explanations would rush through his head within seconds. Some were more probable and logical than others, but in the end, all were more reasonable than a ghost or demon. Right? His brain didn't dare let him think outside of his boundaries. His forced boundaries, one might say.

_Draw something out of the box._ That was the assignment the 1st grade class was given. Everyone was given a shape. A girl next to Shane used a square to create a window of a spaceship looking out on all of space. Shane was given a rectangle. He took a tan crayon and scribbled inside of it. "What is it?" The teacher asked, her pitch high when talking to the kid. Shane looked up, his expression anything but excited. "It's a box."   
"That attitude has no place here, Mr. Madej." The teacher quickly dismissed with a disapproving tone. 

"So, yes, cloning is possible. However, it's immoral, that's why we don't have a thousand of me's running around." Shane's 8th grade biology teacher said, fiddling with a ruler.   
A girl in the back of the class, sitting next to Shane, piped up. "Wait, in that case, since we can clone and grow stuff, could we like...have cool tails? Or lizard spines? Or an extra pair of ears-"  
"We _could_ do those things. But we don't, because they'd all be useless. We wouldn't be able to move the tails, our lizard spines would be a burden, and the extra ears wouldn't even function." Shane interjected, cutting off the student sitting next to him who'd asked the, frankly, quite stupid question. The student turned to him, an offended look on her face.   
" _God_ , dude! Can't you have some imagination?"  
"Well, calm down now," The teacher chuckled nervously. "Shane does have a point. You see..." The teacher continued her rambling, but Shane was no longer listening.

"Great job, everyone! Really funny. Remember next club meeting is moved to Thursday!" The improv troupe leader called out to the leaving members. He paused, then lowered his voice. "Shane, could you hold up a second?"  
Shane stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"  
The high schooler stepped forward, seemingly nervous. "Um, you're really great at improv, Shane. But, you can be a bit...too logical...sometimes."  
Shane knew what he meant. He knew exactly what he meant. But he didn't say anything. He didn't need to, it'd all have the same outcome anyways.  
"Improv is easier when you go at it with an open-minded attitude and a big imagination, yeah? Maybe try being a little less straight-man and a little more fun. I mean- not that you're _not_ fun- you know what a straight man is, right?"  
Shane nodded. It was easier for him to be the straight man. The character who balances out the crazy, excitable ones. The logical one.   
"Just...Get out of that head of yours, will you, buddy?"

Shane's flashlight passed over a couple of boxes. Nothing. He closed his eyes. Nothing. How does Ryan _feel_ this stuff? All Shane felt was...bored. Uncomfortable? ...Sad? Depressed? Lonely? Isolated? Like no matter what you do, you'll never be happy. You'll always bring everyone down, intentions good or not. Morose? Dispirited? Dejected? Rejected? Unknown? Malicious? Unknowable? Unbearable? Intolerable?  
 _Whoa_ , Shane froze up. _Wait. Backtrack. One of those does not fit. Did...wait, malicious?_  
"Shane! Are you still alive?" Ryan called, a hint of panic in his voice.  
"Yeah. Yeah, I am." Shane murmured, standing still.  
"Shane?!"  
"Yes! I am alive!" Shane shouted, pivoting back towards the direction of Ryan's voice.   
"Okay..." Ryan's voice seemed to drift off in a way. Away from Shane's hearing. Everything zoomed out in a second, and Shane found his knees giving out. He crumbled to the ground, shivering. _Holy shit,_ he thought, _am I having a stroke?_ Shane clutched his stomach, eyes squeezed shut. He felt intense burning inside of him- everywhere. His lengthy arm reached up, his fingers gripping the rope. It felt cold, like pressing a burnt hand against cool water. Gravity suddenly slammed against Shane's body, and he held the rope tighter, the change of gravity forcing his fingers to lightly pull it. Shane couldn't think. His thoughts felt shrouded, and though they made words, they didn't connect into intelligible sentences. It felt like something was closing in on his mind, on his muscles, on his heart. He began to yank on the rope. _Ryan-_ among his vanishing self, he found himself thinking clearly of only one word; _Ryan. Ryan! Ryan...!_ He felt the tips of his fingers crack and bleed, the loose strings of the braided rope itching the cuts. Everything was burning, dry and freezing, and Shane unconsciously kept pulling the rope- the rope, that, on the other side, holding it, was Ryan- it comforted him. Calmed the little bit of rationality Shane was keeping in his silent distress. Ryan was probably so scared, he probably thought Shane was pranking him. To Ryan's credit, Shane _would_ prank him like that. And it would be hilarious. _Ryan..._  
An icy grip wrapped around Shane's neck.  
Then, he passed out.

_10 minutes. It's been 10 minutes. I just asked him though! He's fine. He's probably fine. I shouldn't ask him again-_  
"Shane?"  
 _Shit. I asked him again._  
"...Shane?"   
Ryan's body began to freeze up. What happened to Shane? Is he okay? Is he dead? Is he-  
A small tug pulled lightly at the rope. Ryan's hand bounced the rope back and forth, as if it had suddenly began to burn his palms. "What was that? Was- Was that your tug? Shane?" He swallowed nervously. The rope began shaking. Ryan focused on it, the world around him dulling. The rope nearly slipped out of his hands as it began to viciously shake and jerk.  
For some reason, Ryan just held onto it. He didn’t pull on it. He just allowed it to spasm in his grip, unable to do anything.  
“Sh-Shane, if this a prank, it’s not funny!” Ryan spat, internally praying that it was some dumb prank. The only response was the shaking of the red rope. Without another thought, Ryan felt all of his energy surging through his fingers. He yanked the rope, feeling a great weight on the other end, like pulling a rock out of the water with a string. That’s what is was at first. Pulling something that didn’t pull back; but also didn’t help to pull forward. But, with a sudden freezing change, that something began to pull back. Ryan, caught off guard, nearly slipped and lost the progress he was so desperately making.   
“What the hell, Shane?! Don’t pull away from me, you idiot!” Ryan yelled, but it was half-heartedly, and the last of the sentence was murmured to only himself. Why would Shane do this? He wouldn’t, is the answer. Ryan knew that. Something must have been trying to grab him down there-  
 _The demon!_  
The second Ryan decided on the reality of the situation, adrenaline shot through his body. He was not going to lose a tug of war with the stupid basement demon with his best friend on the line. (Literally).  
Undeniably, millions of panicked thoughts were crowding in Ryan’s mind. Shockingly, they only fueled his strength; now, he desperately needed to get Shane out of there. And if it was just Shane pulling on the rope, they would need to have a long talk about how Shane has never skipped arm day.  
It felt like hours of being equally matched with whatever was pulling the damn rope, hours of Ryan’s heels dug into the stone, hours of his fingers burning and his arms throbbing. He had become determined- and desperate. It was entrancing, almost. Doing the same action without an outcome. This balanced, hopeless competition was ripped from Ryan’s hands within a second. The rope had already been burning Ryan’s palms, but not in the actual _fiery_ way. So when Ryan began to notice actual burn marks on his hands, he realized the pain he was very much in, and flinched. And with that flinch, came his failure. Like a red-colored snake, the rope slithered quickly down the well, out of Ryan’s grip. Ryan clutched his hands and stumbled back, realizing his mistake. His lips felt dry, like they would rip apart if he tried to open them and call for his friend. Only a few seconds passed by, but they went by so slowly.  
“Shane…?” Ryan finally whimpered weakly, desperate for reassurance.  
The only thing he got in return was an overwhelming feeling of cowardice. The only thing he was capable of doing, it seemed, was turning tail. That was the only way he could survive. He tried to save Shane, but couldn’t, so saving himself would be the only option. Right? Of course. Shane didn’t mean _that_ much to him. He was just a coworker. There was nothing worth to save. Shane never believed him anyways, so why not leave him to the demon he refused to take seriously? Stupid Shane. Ryan backed up and turned around, feeling the anxiety weigh off of him each step he took away from the well. Away from Shane. He took a deep breath as the overwhelming feelings finally vanished; he was free to leave.   
Ryan took one more step forward. He then pivoted quickly, and bolted towards the well, immediately recollecting all of the pained emotions of fear. He ran through them, and leaped down into the well.   
_Ow._  
Jumping into a well was not the smartest idea Ryan has had. Grumbling, he picked himself up into a sitting position, attempting to adjust his eyesight to the darkness. He felt his hands immediately grip around his holy water bottle as he looked around.  
“Shane?”  
As if in response, a couple of random broken lamps turned on. Their light barely helped- but it still helped.   
“Why come back down here? I gave you a chance to leave.”  
Ryan’s head shot up. Shane was standing in the middle of the room. However, the usual lightness surrounding the tall man was all gone. There was no comfort in his presence, no life in his face.   
“I’m talking to you, _Ryan_.” The tall man narrowed his eyes. His eyes were dulled over, and his head fell from side to side while talking as if his neck could no longer support it. Ryan wanted to vomit at the sound of his name. He had never heard Shane say it in such an unrecognizable and cold voice. His hands started to shake.   
“You’re still cowering.” Shane- no, the _demon_ \- spat in a disapproving tone. “Those, such as you, with a fear-riddled essence are not nearly as appetizing as others as such I have possessed.”  
 _Possessed._ Ryan trembled at the word. He knew his friend was possessed, by a demon, no less; but it was still somehow shocking him. Shocking him into a useless state of fear. He could only mutter one word. “Sh...ane..”  
The demons expression changed. It almost looked pitying. “ _Shane._ Yes. That is this humans name. It’s baffling, really. Usually those I possess- their friends will run away. After seeing their only hopes bolt from them, they’re much easier to devour. On the other hand, those who come alone, are always easier to possess and overpower from the start. However,” The demon looked straight at Ryan. “This is the first time I’ve witnessed a human actually attempting to help. How revolutionary for me! When you’re stuck in a basement, there’s really not much to do but observe the behaviors of your prey. It may seem boring, but I assure you, it gets very interesting. It pays off for times such as now.” Shane’s lengthy body was used for passionate gestures in the demon’s long talking. Meaning the demon didn’t see Ryan as a threat. That was good. Ryan managed to stand up, and the demon turned to him, scaring him back to a frozen stance. The demon didn’t seem to care, and continued his rambling.  
“See, the way I’m able to survive is off of encounters like this. I possess a vessel, and steal their life essence. The less they struggle, the easier it is. But, the more they struggle, the more nutriosis it is! That’s also something I’ve picked up on in my…” The demon paused with a contemplating look, before breaking out in a smile. “My _research_.” He allowed himself a chuckle. “After I successfully steal their life essence, I leave their body; an empty shell. Ever wonder what’s in these many boxes? That’s what the horrid smell is. I’m quite accustomed to it.”  
The sentence hit Ryan like a train. He nearly toppled back. The smell was now stronger than ever. And Shane was in the middle of all these boxes, holding out his arms like a proud collector of them.   
After a few moments of silence, the demon stepped forward to Ryan.   
“Your friend is quite talkative, you know.”  
“I-Shane?” Ryan blurted out.  
The demon smiled. “Yes. _Shane_. Usually, hearing my preys thoughts as I possess them is an entertaining pleasantry. Though, _Shane_ is just yelling a lot. It’s quite annoying. Telling me not to hurt you...How thoughtful! I’m not used to humans being so caring. It makes me feel bad for claiming him.”  
Ryan jumped at the opportunity. “Y-You don’t have to possess him! If you feel bad, you don’t have to! Please, just let him go- you can become good, I’m sure! I don’t know much about religion but-”  
He was interrupted by the demon’s laughter. “How sweet! Thank you for the offer, human!” Shane’s head looked down at Ryan. His eyes were now swirling black. “Though I’m afraid I cannot take you up on it. My _research_ cannot be interrupted.”  
The demon was close to Ryan. Towering over him in Shane’s bigfoot body. Ryan was terrified, but moreover, _determined_. In a flash, Ryan popped off the bottle cap and threw the holy water at his friend. A scream of agony erupted from him as he stumbled back with his face in his hands. Ryan didn’t know what to do next. In a panic of instinct, Ryan ran up and with full force punched Shane in the chest. The demon was slammed into the floor, clutching his stomach. No matter how strong this demon might’ve been, Ryan knew Shane’s weak spots.  
“Let go of my friend!” Ryan screamed, feeling pure rage run through his body. He kicked at Shane, praying his friend would forgive him for beating the shit out of him. Suddenly, the groans of pain turned human- Ryan immediately stopped and bent down. “ _Shane?!_ ” Ryan gasped anxiously, holding up the man’s head.   
Shane opened his eyes, revealing a brown warmness in them. “mmm...Hey Ryan…” Shane muttered sleepily. Ryan choked out a sob and held the man close.   
“ _Astounding!_ ” A voice boomed. “I already thought I hit the jackpot with two humans attempting to help each other, but _actually_ helping each other is completely something else!” A shadowy figure assembled itself in front of the two, horns and all. It seemed to almost be made of static, the only thing not constantly shifting in and out of existence being its dead white eyes.   
“Please,” Ryan cried, “Just let us go.”  
The demon was silent. It stared at the two, its white eyes unmoving. Ryan didn’t know what to do. A minute passed. The demon continued staring. Shane continued shifting on the border of unconsciousness. Another minute passed. Did Ryan say too much? Minutes. Time didn’t exist down here, did it? Did it?   
10\.   
20\.   
30\.   
100\.   
Anxiety attacks. Panics. Hatred.   
All can fit in so little time.   
Amazing. Astounding. Baffling.   
All the h atr ed in the world could fit in a minute, all the time in the world c orr upt ed by a rage of violenc e.   
A b lu r of red and black,   
a b lu r of pain and shock.   
An existence nobody c h o s e yet was f or c ed.   
Time passed so slow, it didn’t pass at all. Life was not l i f e.   
Melting off the skin, forcing on new ones.   
Screams from every direction, none of which meant anything. Just screams. La u g ht er from those who e nj o ye d it meant nothing.   
Pat h et ic.   
No choice to n ot enjoy it,  
f o r i t w a s t h e o n l y   
F U N O F T H E D O W N  
T w o in one!  
T hr e e in one!   
T h o u s a n d s in one.   
Overcrowded and enjoyable for those not crowding it.   
Hell.   
3 minutes. Shane finally mustered the strength to look up and see what was happening. Ryan was still, mouth half open and staring in front of him. There was nothing in front of him.   
“Ryan?” Shane murmured, a headache still lingering in the back of his skull.  
Ryan didn’t respond. Shane held a hand up to Ryan’s cheek, feeling the warmth leaving him. Shane pressed his hand against his friends cheek, retracted it, then slapped Ryan across the face.  
“OW! What the _fuck_ , dude?!”  
Ryan looked down at Shane who was still being cradled in his arms. Shane just shrugged. He didn’t have the energy to argue. He just wanted to sleep.  
An uncommon silence filled the room.  
“Let’s find a way out of here.”  
Shane couldn’t remember much about the encounter. Somehow, he held to it that demons still didn’t exist; that he had just had a fainting spell or something. It made Ryan furious; but, moreover, relieved. He didn’t want to relive that encounter even in explaining it. Shane just needed rest, and some extra care that Ryan gladly lent. Of course Shane dramaticized it a bit.  
“Ryan…” Shane muttured sickly. Ryan hurried to his side. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”  
“I need…” Shane barely whispered, as if on his deathbed. “I need…”  
Ryan started to freak. “What is it? Do I need to call 911? Shane!”  
“I need chicken noodle soup.”  
“Oh my god.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is my first fic on here and I'm planning to do a lot more. I like angst. But not the dramatic relationship angst. The GOOD angst. Y'know? Also, if you wanna make my day, go ahead and say hi at my writing blog, @abigolskeptic on tumblr! I'll update writing shit on there. If I figure it out. And if you're confused about the vision, that was supposed to be the "feeling of hell" that the demon put in Ryan's head- why he did it and why he left them alone afterwards is honestly up to interpretation. Kudos and comments are very appreciated!! I spent way too long on this lmao


End file.
